Concepts Demonstrated: IT Support, GIS Data & Geodatabase Development, Mapping, GIS Integration & Analysis, Standards Compliance, Application Development, Imagery Integration & Processing

Project Summary:

NVision provided GIS analysis and application development for the St. Louis, MO USDA Rural Development office.  Support included ArcGIS Server 9.3, ESRI ArcSDE 9.3, ArcMap 9.3, IBM Informix and other technologies supporiting the USDA mission to "increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for all rural Americans."

Rural Development is working to eliminate substandard housing from rural America by helping rural people buy, build or rent decent housing. We also create jobs by funding the growth and creation of rural businesses and cooperatives. In a typical year, Rural Development programs create or preserve more than 150,000 rural jobs, enable 40,000 to 50,000 rural Americans to buy homes and help 450,000 low-income rural people rent apartments or other housing.  GIS analysis is a critical tool to accomplish this goal.

 

Concepts Demonstrated: Geospatial Analysis

Project Summary: NVision supports the Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center at the NASA Stennis Space Center providing ongoing support for the Navy's mine warfare forces to neutralize threats and to allow for assured access of maritime assets. The NOMWC also provides the Navy's mine warfare operators with access to products and services of the Naval Oceanographic Office, also located at SSC. The Naval Oceanography Operations Command, established in 2005, is focused on operational support to the Navy's warfighting and support disciplines – anti-submarine warfare; special warfare; mine warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and fleet operations (strike and expeditionary); navigation; precise time and astrometry; maritime and aviation.

Concepts Demonstrated: Geospatial Analysis, Remote Sensing

Project Summary: NVision is performing information and technical support services for the U.S. Naval  Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) Glider Operations Center (GOC).  NVision personnel are using sea glider technology (i.e., autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles) for oceanographic environmental data collection to support warfighter decision-making processes via enhanced oceanographic forecasting and product reliability.  GOC “pilots” control gliders remotely to view ocean structure temporal changes.  NVision pilots provide 24/7/365 support.

Concepts Demonstrated: IT Support, GIS Data & Geodatabase Development, Mapping, GIS Integration & Analysis, Standards Compliance, Application Development, Imagery Integration & Processin

Project Summary: As a subcontractor to General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) on a U.S. Department of the Interior (USDOI) Minerals Management Service (MMS) contract, NVision provides on-site Information Technology (IT) and GIS technical support services.  NVision performed a requirements analysis study on the massive enterprise GIS named the Technical Information Management System (TIMS) and developed a phased upgrade approach.  MMS uses TIMS for federal regulation of all oil and gas operations in U.S. waters.  The legacy system used ArcView 3.2, Oracle 9i, Citrix Metaframe, and a variety of custom software written in third-generation languages to serve officials nationwide.  NVision upgraded the entire system to a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) using Java Web services and the latest ESRI ArcGIS, ArcSDE, ArcGIS Server, and Oracle 10g technology and developed custom applications.  This multi-phase, multi-year upgrade is currently in progress.

NVision developed the Official Protraction Diagram (OPD) application to allow MMS users to create and publish custom maps using data stored in an ESRI geodatabase.  The geodatabase currently uses an ArcSDE instance built on Oracle 10g.  The application front-end is a Java Server faces application built on the ArcGIS Server framework, which is accessing the Oracle instance via Hibernate.  The user initially logs in and chooses one of four geographic regions.  From the Gulf of Mexico regional overview screen, the user can select a protraction for which to build an OPD map.  All of the information used to define how the map will eventually look – including the spatial data layers to be added, the geographic extents of the map, the spatial reference, and the filtering scheme for the individual spatial layers – is stored in Oracle business tables.  The user can then zoom to specific geographic extents for performing editing tasks.

Concepts Demonstrated: Project Management, GIS, Mapping, Imagery Processing, Geospatial Application Development

Project Summary: NVision leveraged two NASA Dual-Use contracts, a NASA SBIR Phase I contract and a Phase II contract, and investments from local governments and the commercial sector to develop the Real-time Emergency Action Coordination Tool  (REACT).  REACT is NVision’s original low-cost and easy to use first responder decision support system built with geospatial technology to provide scalability and vertical integration.  REACT’s GIS tools, models, and environmental sensors are designed to help governments plan for, respond to, and recover from a natural disaster or other crisis.  NVision worked with NASA, the US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS), FEMA, Boeing, and NAVTEQ to develop the web-based, Geographic Information System (GIS)-centric “All Hazards Network” (HazNet) Emergency Management System (EMS) application.  HazNet provides a coherent, real-time, Common Operating Picture (COP) for public safety, homeland security, counter-terrorism, anti-force protection, emergency management, and disaster planning, response, and recovery.  HazNet incorporates the USDHS strategy-oriented National Incident Management System (NIMS), the procedure-oriented Incident Command System (ICS), and the standardized government formats, nomenclature, icons, and forms.  REACT forms the core of HazNet; HazNet connects multiple REACT systems together into an overarching network.  Based on its interoperable design, HazNet communicates with existing systems and tools, networks with remote incident reporting devices (i.e., portable field units), and integrates the relevant information for innovative crisis situational awareness and collaborative decision-making.  The portable field units use the latest smart phone technology equipped with GPS, digital camera, voice recorder, and real-time wireless connectivity.  The HazNet application only requires Internet access, a HazNet user account, and access permissions set.  HazNet leverages ESRI ArcEngine and Leica Geosystems ERDAS TITAN geospatial technology to host, serve, share, and manage the data.  By employing these technologies, NVision provides a secure, permission-based, real-time data sharing, access, and distribution solution while simultaneously protecting data and software licensing and ownership rights.  Through a NASA SBIR Phase III contract, NVision is upgrading, enhancing, and customizing the HazNet EMS for use at NASA SSC, Michoud Assembly Facility, and Headquarters.  One enhanced capability involves integrating an intuitive large-format multi-user interactive touch surface display device (www.intuiface.com) to aid NASA in visualizing and managing hazardous situations, enabling collaborative problem-solving and decision-making, and conducting preparedness exercises.  NVision is providing some additional enhancements and customization of HazNet and developing a seamless system for accessing relevant data.

Concepts Demonstrated: .NET, MS SQL Server 2005, ArcGIS Server 9.3, ArcSDE, ArcGIS 9.3, VMWare, HTML, AJAX, DHTML, SQL

Project Summary:

The GIS Department of Jackson County, Mississippi  contracted NVision to migrate the public Jackson County Web Mapping site from ESRI’s ArcIMS 4.0 to ArcGIS 9.3.  Because of the radically different underlying platforms between ArcIMS and ArcGIS NVision completely rewrote the Web application and assisted the county in migrating their internal working geodatabase to one for use on the web. The application includes parcel data, Flood Insurance Rate Maps, FEMA Advisory Base Flood Elevations and the ability to search for parcels by id, owner, and address.  NVision built a custom print function which allows citizens to customize parcel reports for printing.

 

The site is currently online at:

http://mapping.co.jackson.ms.us/JacksonCountyWebMap/

 

Concepts Demonstrated: GIS, Technical Support

Project Summary: NVision provided onsite GIS analysis, GIS data creation, data maintenance, and map production onsite for FEMA over five years.  Through FEMA NVision supported other federal agencies including the Army Corp of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Guard, and the Mississippi Governor's Office for every aspect of Hurricane Katrina rescue, recovery, and rebuilding in Mississippi under FEMA’s Region IV Planning Division.  GIS analysis includes debris mapping, housing studies, population shift analysis and more.  NVision provided GIS support to local government along the Coast through FEMA's Geographic Information Systems Program.  NVision staff worked directly with local leaders for community redevelopment planning.  For more about this program visit http://www.nvs-inc.com/news.php?story=63

Concepts Demonstrated: GIS, Web Application Development, Database Support & Administration

Project Summary: NVision provided onsite Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, ArcSDE, database design, development, maintenance, and troubleshooting support for FEMA. NVision also provided all software application development within the FEMA Region IV Planning Division which included the Call Center application used to respond support calls from hurricane victims living in FEMA trailers by FEMA contractors and FEMA managers. NVision created custom software to automatically migrate Microsoft Access field databases to a centralized Oracle database available to FEMA managers region-wide.  NVision created a finance management system named FALCON which also ported a Microsoft Access database system to Oracle.  NVision developed a Microsoft .NET web-based employee feedback system used by the Mississippi recovery office to gauge employee satisfaction.

Concepts Demonstrated: GIS,Technical Support, Data Maintenance

Project Summary: NVision provided on-site GIS services, equipment, and software at the Hancock County, Mississippi Emergency Operations Center. GIS services included the creation of a complete GIS Mapping Center including two plotters, a color laser printer, two inkjet printers, a high-speed copier, a large format scanner, map laminator, 10 GIS workstations, an ArcSDE geodatabase server, an ArcIMS Map server, and cell phone repeaters. GIS services included GIS analysis, GIS data creation, data acquisition, data maintenance, map production including large format maps as well as mapbooks and digital maps, map and data restoration through scanning and re-digitizing, FIRM map georeferencing, Pictometry analysis for debris pile scouting and measurement, and general IT support for the EOC. NVision project managers served as coordinators for volunteers from the GIS Corps as well as liasons to ESRI’s Disaster Response team. NVision provided GIS services directly to FEMA and other federal agencies including the Army Corp of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Guard in support of every aspect of Hurricane Katrina rescue, recovery, and rebuilding in the heart of Katrina’s eye path.

Concepts Demonstrated: GIS, Technical Support

Project Summary: NVision provided on-site support at ESRI headquarters in Redlands, CA for three months. NVision provided priority phone and e-mail technical support for ESRI’s ArcSDE geodatabase software to federal and state government customers. In addition to providing direct customer support NVision supported ESRI technical support staff with customer issues in offices around the world. Technical support included troubleshooting any and all issues on every platform which ArcSDE runs to solve customer problems, data model and table structure consultation, and providing verified bug reports and suggested solutions to the ArcSDE software development team.

Concepts Demonstrated: Emergency Decision Support Systems (Homeland Security), Internet Mapping, Enterprise Geo-Databases, Hydrology Modelling

Project Summary: St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, with a grant from NASA, contracted NVision to build a Web-based Decision Support System including a dynamic flood inundation model based on NVision's Emergency Decision Support Architecture.

The flood model coupled with real-time weather sensors will enhance parish officials' ability to make quick decisions in times of crisis to coordinate disaster management efforts, make estimations about damage, and protect parish citizens. Parish disaster management personnel can log into the Web site from anywhere and visualize predicted flood inundation on top of 6-inch color aerial photography of St. Tammany at different inundation levels as well as get vital statistics about the flooded area including population, property values, and contact information for local coordinators. NVision turned these reports into triggers for the Parish "first call" system which will automatically telephone residents in the affected areas and alert them of the possible inundation with a recorded message.

NVision serves the decision support system through an ESRI ArcIMS Java website running on top of an ArcSDE / SQL Server 2000 database. NVision aggregated all available geographic data into this geo-database which is also available to parish departments through the Web using any ArcGIS or other SDE compatible ESRI software. All parish officials have access to the same versioned geographic data to streamline data sharing throughout the St. Tammany.

The NVision team completed Phase 1 of this project and continues to improve the geo-database and has nearly finished porting the flood model to a custom Java application that will provide improved flood inundation modelling. For real-time data sensors NVision integrated USGS Stream Guages as a point layer on the map. This layer is updated every 15 minutes. NVision also integrated an experimental NEXRAD Doppler Radar layer updated every five minutes to show the latest precipitation over the parish. In the next phase of the project NVision will integrate approximately 25 low-cost wireless stream guages throughout the parish to model stream conditions as completely and accurately as possible. This stream data will be integrated into the decision support system.

NVision CIO Craig Harvey initially envisioned this model which NVision prototyped in the "RiverWatch" demonstration product below.

Emergency Decision Support System PDF Brochure (368 k)

Emergency Decision Support System PowerPoint Presentation (299 k)

Concepts Demonstrated: Linux Clustering (Grid Computing), Weather Modeling, Geospatial Analysis, Geospatial Software Development

Project Summary:

World Winds Inc. hired NVision to configure their custom Linux cluster. NVision set up the eight-node, Beowulf, MPI cluster using the Portland Group Compiler to do both coarse and fine grained parallel processing giving World Winds 32 GHz of raw computing power with eight gigabytes of shared memory. World Winds will use the cluster to do advanced weather modelling.

WorldWinds, Inc. contracted NVision to provide onsite application development services to provide real-time and near-real-time data for the XM Satellite Weather service designed for marine use.  The website for this service is:  http://www.xmwxweather.com/.  NVision created automated programs to acquire data from a variety of federal data resources including the NOAA Data Buoy Center and the NOAA Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS).  Data types included sea surface temperatures, wave height, wind speeds, currents, and more.  NVision also automated data post-processing according to WorldWinds specifications for integration with the larger system and for XM satellite bandwidth restrictions.  NVision worked with WorldWinds Baron Weather Services to create redundant data retrieval and processing servers in Alabama and North Carolina for the WorldWinds system to ensure XM Satellite Weather users on the water had continuous uptime.

 

 

Concepts Demonstrated: Project Management, GIS, Mapping, Imagery Processing, Geospatial Application Development

Project Summary: As a subcontractor to Anteon Corporation (acquired by General Dynamics Information Technology), NVision Solutions, Inc. built a pilot remote sensing data portal for the NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC) at the NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) Mississippi.  The site provided raster satellite data in ESRI ArcSDE and allows for data band manipulation, subsetting, and map creation using a customized ESRI ArcIMS website coupled with NVision's proprietary web-based remote sensing backend.